This is a picture of HIV-positive people attending to a march in South Africa. Since 1996, people with HIV and AIDS who live in well resourced countries have been able to benefit from taking a combination of HIV antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). These drugs, although not a cure, have resulted in an enormous decrease in the number of people dying from AIDS-related illnesses in such countries as the USA and the UK. Also, many people who were seriously sick are now reasonably well, and some people have been able to return to work for the first time in many years. Pressure from governments, political organisations, people living with HIV and HIV activists, has lead to major price reductions in the cost of these ARVs in developing countries. Price was always a major barrier to accessing ARVs in Sub Saharan Africa, and drug prices fell on average by 85% between 2000 and 2002. The price of generically produced drugs is even lower, this being due to changes in international trade laws and pressure being placed on pharmaceutical companies. The financial momentum has also increased recently, with an increase from just over US$300 million in 1999 to nearly US$3 billion in 2002 in global HIV/AIDS resources. More about obtaining HIV& AIDS drugs in Africa can be found at http://www.avert.org/aidsdrugsafrica.htm.

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Photo credit: � TAC